"Hadn't you better shut down a bit? That paint's blistering, as if the
cylinders were red-hot."
Much as he disliked to interfere with the operation of the aeroplane, the
young officer felt that it was necessary that some means should be taken
to compel Mortlake to reduce speed. If the engine became so overheated
that it stopped in mid-air, they might be caught in a nasty position,
where it might be impossible to volplane--or glide--downward, without the
aid of the engine.
"It's all right, I tell you," said Mortlake stubbornly. "We'll beat those
cubs into Sandy Beach, or----"
Or what, was destined never to be known, for at that instant, with a
splutter and a sigh, the overheated engines, almost at a red-heat, stopped
short. The propeller ceased to revolve, and the aeroplane began to plunge
downward with fearful velocity.
But Mortlake, no matter what his other faults, possessed a cool head. The
instant he lost control of the motor, he seized the warping levers, and
began manipulating them. At the same time he set the rudder so as to bring
the _Silver Cobweb_ to earth in a series of long spirals. The maneuver was
that of volplaning, and has been performed successfully by several
aviators whose engines have suddenly ceased to work while in mid-air. The
young officer watched approvingly.
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